Leadwerks has been successfully Greenlit for Steam, meaning we can integrate great features like the Steam Workshop and Valve file formats right into our game engine! Thank you so much to everyone who voted.

We saw an incredible response from the Steam Linux community, both here and on our Kickstarter campaign for Linux support, which is nearly 85% funded. If the campaign reaches the first stretch goal, we're throwing in Android and OUYA support for everyone who pledged $100 or more to the campaign.

Valve is one of my earliest influence in design and coding, and I'm really excited to be working more closely with them in the near future. Again, I sound like a broken record, but a big THANK YOU to the Steam, Linux, and Leadwerks communities!

Last weekend I attended an OUYA game jam and got to play around with the OUYA dev kit for the first time. My goal was to see if I could get Leadwerks running on it over the weekend. I had problems with the USB driver, but compiling went smoothly:

I didn't have any problems with controller latency, but did not finish mapping the controls or updating our project to use some newer functions we need. In the end, I had to manually copy the compiled .apk file to the device to deploy it. All in all, it was a good proof of concept.

As we now pass the 60% mark, we're ready to unveil our first stretch goal. We want to put OUYA development in the hands of every Leadwerks developer, so we're making that our first stretch goal. There's still a lot of work to be done, but my tests last weekend prototyping Leadwerks on OUYA proved it was possible. When our campaign reaches the $26,000 mark, we will provide all backers who pledged $100 or more with OUYA support, delivered at the time Leadwerks for Linux is ready. This will let you build games for OUYA and Android, without ever leaving the Linux operating system.

Although the OUYA is new and the firmware still has a few rough spots, it's a lot of fun deploying games straight to your big-screen TV, and we've already prototyped it. We're looking forward to bringing OUYA game development to Linux users.

I'm writing this as we're a few dollars away from the mythic 30% target that has been claimed to be a "tipping point" past which Kickstarter campaigns reach critical mass. I'm not going to go into any detail about that because I don't want to jinx it, but so far I am blown away by the response. We put this up Sunday in advance of contacting bloggers, so nobody really knew about it the first day. It's Tuesday morning and we're presently at 29%.

I've heard a number of people point out that putting Leadwerks on Linux[674] would be the last tool they need to ditch Windows completely and move over to Linux. I myself am sort of platform-agnostic, and don't really get into the politics of different operating systems. However, the response we're getting with this campaign is making me realize something new.

It's arguable that Microsoft has been a poor custodian of PC gaming. They haven't done much to support OpenGL, instead trying to push everyone into their own proprietary graphics API, DirectX. The problem with DirectX is it only runs on Windows and XBox, and it completely changes every few years, so developers have to rewrite all their rendering code. OpenGL has all the same functionality, it's stable, and it runs on everything (except XBox and Surface).

The second problem with PC gaming on Windows is that Microsoft has a fundamental conflict of interest because they own a closed gaming platform, the XBox. Closed platforms are bad for developers because it can be expensive to push out game patches. The creator of Fez famously declared they would not be patching a known bug, because it would have cost an amount rumored to be around $40,000. It's bad for consumers because they don't get access to the same range of indie titles an open platform like Linux or the upcoming SteamBox can get. In addition, recent restrictions for the new XBox One have been announced that threaten the ability to lend games and may make the system "un-future-proof" (is there a real word for that?).

Given these problems, it seems logical to us that PC gaming on Linux would grow quickly. Linux has faster OpenGL performance than Windows or Mac, and there's none of the "dueling APIs" issues and conflicts of interest Windows has. Thanks in part to Valve, the graphics drivers are now really solid. We have an optional distribution system through Steam. It's really got everything we need. So I am very optimistic about the future of PC gaming on Linux, and am really happy to be a part of this movement.

The next step is for us to keep spreading the word and reaching out to publications so that we can make sure the target goal is met. Your help is appreciated. You guys are making quite a buzz on Twitter, Google+, and Facebook!

To all our backers, thank you so much for sharing our vision for Linux gaming. I'm really excited to be working on this and glad I can deliver something the PC gaming community really needs right now.

Last week we launched our Greenlight campaign to get Leadwerks into the hands of the Steam community. This week, we're rolling out the second stage of our plan with a Kickstarter campaign to bring Leadwerks to Linux. This will let you build and play games, without ever leaving Linux. The result of this campaign will be Leadwerks 3.1 with a high-end AAA renderer running on Linux, Mac, and Windows, with an estimated release date before Christmas.
Valve has given Linux users a taste of PC gaming, so now it's up to us to reach the Linux community with our message. If you dig this, please help spread the word that someone is trying to put game development on Linux:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1937035674/leadwerks-build-linux-games-on-linux

Leadwerks for LinuxLinux is a solid and secure operating system that’s perfect for gaming, but at this time Windows remains the lead platform for PC games. We want to change that by putting the game development process right on Linux, with Leadwerks for Linux. This will allow you to build and play games without ever leaving the Linux operating system.

Leadwerks is a visual tool for building any kind of 3D game, including dungeon crawlers, first-person shooters, and side-scrollers.. We want to put game development on Linux with Leadwerks for Linux. Our campaign has three goals:

Linux Game Development. On Linux.It’s not enough just to export games to Linux. We want to put the game development process on Linux, so you can build and play games, without ever leaving the Linux operating system. We have a complete visual editor that handles all aspects of the game development process, and we’re porting it to run natively on Linux. We’re using GTK for the user interface, so our editor will look and feel like a native Linux application.

We're targeting Ubuntu 12.04 to start with, and will support other distros as we make progress. You'll also be able to compile games for Windows and Mac...if you feel like sharing.

Expand the Linux Library of GamesOur second goal is to facilitate expansion of the Linux library of games, and encourage the production of Linux-exclusive titles. The Linux community is pretty intelligent, and they have a lot of good programmers. We think by putting the appropriate tools in their hands, it will enable them to make great Linux games.

Hoodwink by E-One Studio

AAA Graphics on LinuxLeadwerks is known for having great graphics. We want to push Linux graphics beyond anything that’s ever been done. Linux is the perfect platform for triple-A graphics, because it has OpenGL performance faster than Windows or Mac. We’re taking advantage of this performance with deferred lighting, hardware tessellation, and up to 32x multisample antialiasing.

The Zone by Dave Lee

Steam IntegrationWhen Valve announced Steam was coming to Linux, that was a clear sign to us that Linux is ready for PC gaming. We’re working to integrate Leadwerks with Steam and take advantage of new features Steam offers for developers.

Steam WorkshopWe’re hooking into the Steam Workshop to deliver game assets. This includes models, textures, scripts, and maps, so you can get everything you need to make games. When you find an object in the Steam Workshop you want to use in your game, just hit the “Subscribe” button and it will show up right away, ready to use in Leadwerks. We’re also adding support for Valve’s asset formats, so you can access lots of great content from the rest of the Steam Workshop, and add it to your game.

Export for SteamWe’re working with the Steam SDK to make it easier to submit Linux games to Greenlight. Just press a button, and your game files will be packaged up, ready to send to Steam.

FeaturesLeadwerks is a powerful yet easy to use game engine with thousands of users worldwide. Here are just a few of the main reasons we think Linux users will love Leadwerks.

C++ ProgrammingProgramming with Leadwerks is a breeze. Underneath our visual editor lies a powerful yet easy to use programming API that can be accessed in C++, Lua, and other languages. With documentation and examples for every single command, you’ve got everything you need to make any kind of game.

Visual ScriptingFor scripting, we use the Lua script language, just like in Crysis, World of Warcraft, and hundreds of other games. We’ve got a built-in script editor, so you don’t have to switch back and forth between Leadwerks and an external editor. It’s even got a built-in debugger so you can step through your script and see everything that’s going on in the game. The flowgraph editor is used to connect scripted objects and make gameplay happen. This lets map designers set up sequences of events and complex gameplay, with no programming required.

Constructive Solid GeometryFinally, we use a level editor based on constructive solid geometry. This lets everyone make game levels, without having to be an expert. If you’re familiar with Valve’s Hammer Editor, you’ll feel right at home in Leadwerks.

Combat Helo by Tricubic Studios

We plan to deliver a visual editor that handles every aspect of the game development process, a powerful yet easy to use programming API, with triple-A graphics, all running natively in Linux. By working with Steam and the Linux community, our goal is to make Linux the number one platform for PC gaming. Thank you for helping us take Linux gaming to the next level.

Big Five Game Hunter by Unidev

Risks and challengesWe expect to encounter some graphics driver bugs. This is always the case when you are pushing advanced graphics. Fortunately, we have good relationships with the major graphics hardware vendors, and have been able to get driver bugs fixed on other platforms in the past. Valve Software has done some of the heavy lifting for us here, by prompting the graphics hardware vendors to get their drivers in good shape.

Our GUI has a GTK implementation for Linux, but we expect to encounter some problems that have to be overcome. Our GTK Scintilla implementation (for the code editor) has not been written, and it's a complex library.

Since the Linux file system is case-sensitive, we expect to have to modify some code to work properly on Linux.

We're implementing a new method for terrain layers using virtual texturing. We do not anticipate any problems here, but it is one of the few features we haven't fully prototyped.
Although building Leadwerks for Linux will undoubtedly present some difficult problems, our team has a lot of experience with multi-platform development, and we're confident we can deal with all challenges as they arise.

Today, I'm excited to announce our Greenlight campaign for Leadwerks 3: Steam Edition. This software will be distributed through Steam and allow you to build games with Lua script and publish them to Windows and Mac through Steam. We think Steam users will love Leadwerks, for a few reasons.

Constructive Solid GeometryFirst, we use a level editor based on constructive solid geometry. This lets everyone create game levels, without having to be an expert. If you're familiar with Valve's Hammer Editor, you'll feel right at home in Leadwerks. It's fun to make game levels, and anyone can do it.

Write Games with Lua ScriptSecond, we use Lua script, just like in Garry's Mod, World of Warcraft, Crysis, and hundreds of other games. We have a built-in script editor so you don't have to switch back and forth between Leadwerks and an external program. It's even got a built-in debugger so you can step through your script and see everything that's going on in the game.

Visual ScriptingFinally, we use a flowgraph editor to connect scripted objects and make gameplay happen. You can view the functions of scripted objects and just click and connect them. This lets map designers create sequences of events and complex gameplay, with no programming required.

But it's not enough to just put Leadwerks on Steam. We want to fully integrate these technologies to deliver a complete game development platform, running within Steam.

Steam WorkshopWe're hooking into the Steam Workshop to deliver game assets. This includes models, textures, scripts, and maps, so you can get everything you need to make games. When you find an object in the Steam Workshop you want to use in your game, just hit the "Subscribe" button and it will show up right away, ready to use in Leadwerks.

We're addng support for Valve's asset formats so you can access lots of great content from the rest of the Steam Workshop and add it to your game.

Export for SteamWe're working with the Steam SDK to make it easier to submit your games to Greenlight. Just press a button and your game files will be packaged up ready to send to Steam.

Our dream is to unite the entire Steam community into this big global game-producing factory, where everyone can do what they're best at. We need your help to make it happen. Please vote for us on Greenlight and show Valve the Steam community wants to build their own 3D games with Leadwerks.

We'll do our best to make sure all current Leadwerks users can get Leadwerks 3: Steam Edition added to their Steam account for free. To help facilitate this, please add your Steam ID to your Werkspace profile.